Of Secret Passions and Watching Eyes
by MajinSakuko
Summary: Complete! Harry's life couldn't be better. He's healthy, he's in love, and alive. But then an old ghost decides to drop in for a visit, and before Harry had the chance to figure out what's happening, he has promised to play matchmaker for Remus and Snape.


Title: Of Secret Passions and Watching Eyes  
Author: MajinSakuko  
E-Mail: MajinSakukoyahoo.de  
Beta-Readers: Busaikko, JamesMarsters15, Susa  
Dedication: To kawiki and born2read, who both hate Slash and MPreg, and to dear JosephineDracul, who loves it. May their flames and reviews inspire me for many more fics.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, JKR everything else  
Fandom: Harry Potter  
Pairing/Main-Chara: (SS/RL), DM/HP, SB  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre/s: Romance (Slash)  
Warning/s: implied food smut, MPreg, piercing, voyeurism  
A/Ns: Harry's POV, title supplied by Busaikko  
Summary: Harry's life couldn't be better. He's healthy, he's in love, and he's alive. But then an old ghost decides to drop in for a visit, and before Harry had the chance to figure out what's happening, he has promised to play matchmaker for Remus and Snape.  
Originally written to answer the 216th and 45th Challenge of the Master and the Wolf Fuh-Q Festival.

- Tell us any RL/SS story, but not with them ever being the 'main' character you are showing. We can see the thoughts/actions of any/every other character observing RL/SS, but we are totally outside of RL and SS, seeing only what other characters see and think of them.

- Sirius Black cannot "move on" or so to speak before he fixes the mess he made when he was alive. One of them is ruining Remus' chance with Severus. To make matter worse, no one can see or hear him but Harry. How will the two of them cooperate to play matchmaker?  
hi  
There's a piece of Art/Work at my LiveJournal. The tags are art, harry/draco and snape/lupin.

"Oh God, this is awful!" Harry whinged, threading his fingers through his unruly hair in distress. "If I've got to learn one more bloody Potions recipe, my head's going to explode!"

"We can't have that, can we?" a familiar voice drawled. "Brain tissue all over my bed. Not a pretty sight, I tell you."

"Shut up, Draco. You're not helping any."

"Was I insinuating that I wanted to be helpful?"

Harry heard the smirk in his boyfriend's voice and it made his skin tingle all over. "No," he said dryly. "How could I get that impression?" He rolled onto his stomach and leafed through his Potions textbook, groaning. "I'm never going to remember all this crap. Only three more weeks till the NEWTs. I'm never going to make it. God, I hate Potions at least as passionately as Snape hates me." Harry groaned again. "Help me!"

"You're pathetic," said Draco in a huff. "Potions is one of the few parts of magic that actually makes sense, and brewing is very easy. If you know what to do, that is. You can't blame your perpetual failing on Severus, just because he doesn't like you. That's not very professional."

"Yeah, you're one to talk, teacher's pet!" Harry spat in mock-disgust. "It's no surprise you're so good at Potions when Snape always favours you like he does. You try to brew something when he's breathing down your neck and you can't even think straight!"

"Oh, I do hope you're not thinking straight," Draco said in a sudden change of mood. "However, I also hope Severus breathing down your neck didn't trigger it..."

"That's disgusting." Harry shuddered and threw his boyfriend a glare over his shoulder.

Draco crept nearer, straddling Harry's thighs. "I wouldn't say so..."

Harry narrowed his eyes and surveyed his boyfriend for a few moments. "I can't even tell when you're serious and when not. I hate that! Couldn't you lie somewhat more, I don't know, obviously? That would be very helpful."

"As if I were known to make your life easier, Potter." Draco smirked, lying down on top of Harry.

"Tell me about it, you conceited little prat- Ouch!" Harry rubbed his head, pouting. "Why did you hit me?"

"Because I'm not only a conceited little prat, but an abusive boyfriend to boot. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, whatever you say, love." Harry wasn't going to risk anything. Draco might be smaller and more delicate-looking than him, but the blond had a right hook Mike Tyson would have chewed an ear for.

"Sorry," Draco mumbled, kissing the sore spot. "Better?"

"Hmm." Harry sighed, laying his head on his folded arms and closing his eyes, enjoying the gentle ministrations. It did have its advantages, after all, to be the boyfriend of the Head Boy: Private bedroom, en-suite bath and undisturbed privacy. He didn't notice how he drifted off, dozing and drooling on his open Potions textbook.

"Harry?" sounded a hoarse whisper.

The boy jerked awake, a damp page clinging to his cheek. He felt an arm wrapped around his waist and a warm body nuzzling against his left side. For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was, and then he remembered that he'd fallen asleep on the bed, right before dinner.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?" came the sleepy reply. Unfocused grey eyes blinked owlishly from behind a dishevelled veil of blonde hair. Creases were imbedded in Draco's left cheek where he had rested on his makeshift pillow - alias Harry's shoulder - and his face was flushed from their little afternoon nap. Harry had always found that Draco looked his best (and cutest and sweetest and...) at these unguarded moments. Heaven prevent him ever saying that aloud.

"Hmm?" Harry echoed.

"What?" Draco said fuzzily.

"What do you want?"

"What I want?" Draco repeated crossly. "You woke me, ripping me out of some very nice dreams, by the way! I want nothing!" However, after the sweet, unguarded moments, the cranky phase ensued. Oh well, in for a Knut, in for a Sickle.

"What are you talking about? You woke me, not the other way 'round."

"I was asleep."

"Yeah, maybe you dreamt of me and called for me unconsciously," Harry muttered.

"I'm not wasting my sleep dreaming of you," Draco said arrogantly, causing his boyfriend to flinch and turn around, facing away, "if I've got you already in real life. That's good enough, actually." Harry's back remained turned to him. Draco sighed audibly and nudged the other boy's shoulder. "Hey, don't be so touchy. You know I didn't mean it like that. I'm an insensitive git according to you, right?"

"Shut up," Harry said wearily, settling back down for another few minutes of rest before they needed to head down for dinner. The textbook finally proved uncomfortable, and Harry shoved it out of the way, lying back down and pulling the cover over him. He felt Draco inching closer, spooning him from behind, and he sighed, pulling Draco's arm over his chest and holding it tightly.

"I'm not angry at you," he said softly.

"What gave you the idea that I-" Draco cut himself off on time.

"Well, not angrier than usually..."

Draco pecked Harry's neck. "That's fine. More than I expected, in any case."

"Harry?" Again the whisper.

Harry let out a harsh breath, closing his eyes briefly, before turning around, the question of why his boyfriend deemed it necessary to play stupid games already on the tip of his tongue.

Said tongue went limp the instant Harry's eyes caught sight of an eerily familiar figure, floating in mid-air. Long, black, ruffled hair, sallow face, and haunted eyes. Harry's mind didn't register the confused look Draco shot him or that he looked like a dumb-stuck idiot with his mouth hanging open the way it did. All he knew was that he was seeing a ghost. And not just any ghost, but Sirius Black's.

Repressing the urge to hitch up the cover, Harry whispered, "Si-" but the spirit interrupted him sharply.

"Don't say my name, Harry!"

"Harry?" asked Draco, showing concern at the odd behaviour of his boyfriend. "Let me be the first to inform you that you're staring off into space. Find something interesting?" Well, concern in his own, unique way.

Harry didn't react, and Draco, always irked at being ignored, moved and snipped his fingers in front of the Gryffindor's face. "Hello? Someone in there? You said you weren't angrier than usually."

Harry jerked, whipping his head around. "Draco? Don't you hear-?"

"He can't hear me," Sirius said, "or see me for that matter."

"I hear nothing but your slightly unnerving babbling and- Could you at least have the courtesy to look at me when I'm talking to you?" Draco snapped, grabbing Harry's chin and turning it back around roughly. "Now, that wasn't too difficult, was it?"

"No," sighed Harry. "Sorry."

"God, Harry," Sirius groaned. "It was bad enough for me to discover you were together with Malfoy," (Harry let out a quiet hiss of objection,) "but do you have to be so... submissive? That's so unbecoming for a Gryffindor! I mean, yes, I can see why you would chose someone like-" Sirius cut himself off, shaking his head.

Harry pulled the cover over Draco in a possessive and highly protective gesture. Nobody had the right to check out his boyfriend.

"I seriously fear for your sanity, Harry," said Draco, only half-joking. "It's nice to know that you're always keeping me warm, but I'm rather hot already, so..." He pushed the covers back down.

"Are you feeling well?" Draco asked suddenly, touching Harry's forehead. "You haven't behaved so oddly since... you know. Fifth year and all..."

"It's," the Gryffindor said, glancing from the corner of his eye at- "nothing."

Sirius was gone. Had he been there to begin with? Harry wasn't sure. It (whatever it had been) sure had looked and sounded like him, but why should Harry be the only one to see and hear him? And why didn't the apparition want Harry to utter Sirius' name? It was all very confusing; especially after just having woken up from a nap, when his brain was still spongy and slow.

"It's nothing," Harry repeated; this time with a smile to dissipate Draco's worries further. "Must have still been dreaming."

Draco didn't look like he believed him, but, thankfully, he didn't press the matter.

"Well," said Snape slowly, bracing his knuckles against his desk and leaning forwards.

It was clearly an act of intimidation, and Harry couldn't help being in reluctant awe of its effectiveness. How the long strands of black hair brushed against the man's sallow cheeks, concealing half of his face; how the dark eyes gleamed like hot coals; how his scarcely bared teeth flashed dangerously in the flickering torch-light. It all appeared very impressive - and very practised. Probably in front of a magical mirror, which told him how to improve his scary image even further.

"Seeing as there are only three more weeks until you will be able to show what you learned in Potions during your NEWTs - though the skills of some surely will prove abysmal-" Snape sneered in Harry's general direction, "we will most certainly not make this a revision lesson. Anyone who needed that should have taken Remedial Potions."

"He's never going to stop dwelling on that one, is he?" Harry muttered under his breath.

"Be quiet," Draco hissed back. "I wasn't in Remedial Potions, so I have to listen to what Severus says. The exams are in twenty days and I'd like a good mark, mind you!"

In times like these, when tests drew closer, Draco reminded Harry of Hermione quite uncannily; the blond only lacked the frizzy hair.

Harry shuddered at the thought.

Draco with long, blonde, frizzy hair, flaring in all directions as if charged with static electricity. It reminded him of an overgrown ferret that had taken a hair-spurt potion.

Harry shuddered again.

"Are we freezing, Mr. Potter?" Snape whispered icily.

Harry looked up quickly and found himself the subject of the Potions master's dark glare for the... he'd lost count somewhere after the 278th time. Harry literally felt Draco's indifferent expression which said, 'Didn't I tell you to shut up? That's what you get for not listening to me.'

Harry gulped. "I'm a bit chilled," he said, adding a quick "sir;" he'd learned his lesson two years ago. How could he explain that his shivers were due to a Hermione-like Draco vision? Admitting to feeling a bit cold seemed to be the lesser of two evils. Telling Snape that he had a daydream during his lesson would be approximately as foolish as trying to battle Voldemort on his own - which Harry had done, so he knew how foolish it was. Even to be able to experience Snape's mocking was mostly thanks to dumb luck and Snape himself. Much good that it did him: Getting rescued from his Kamikaze attack, only to be put into Snape's NEWTs class. Harry couldn't see the improvement. Voldemort's torture, at least, would have been only sick and long; Snape's torture was sick, long - and mostly legal.

"Oh," said Snape in mock sympathy, an evil sneer beginning to develop. "Now, we cannot have that, can we?"

At these words Harry had a sudden flash of his own brain tissue all over Draco's bed. It was eerie how his love could speak (and drawl, of course) just like his guardian.

"Before Mr. Potter here freezes to death, then - which would be indeed a very mourned loss," Snape went on with a disdainfully nice smile, "we will start a few fires..." He drew his wand, swishing his arm across the room, and whispered something under his breath. Mere instants later, the fireplaces on the students' tables were lit and their cauldrons floated over. "Why don't we have a, shall we say, a surprise exam, wouldn't that be nice?" he drawled, ignoring the groans and relishing the death glares that were sent in Harry's direction.

Harry fought hard not to snarl. It was all just so unfair! He hadn't even done anything, well, apart from the bit of whispering, but- Argh! And did the git have to turn it so that his Potions class hated him now a bit more? Apart from Hermione and Draco. Those two thrived on every bit of extra work they could get their hands on.

'Great,' Harry thought furiously, 'just great...' Were it not for the fact that he'd already started studying for Potions, he would be in serious trouble. However, he had Draco, as well, who could-

"Oh, and Mr. Potter," Snape sneered, pointing one slender-to-the-point-of-being-bony finger to the workbench in front of his desk. "Before you get the ludicrous idea you could cheat by spying on Mr. Malfoy's work, why don't you come to the front so I can keep an eye on you myself?"

Draco stifled his laugh, and Harry shot him an angry look. "Just you wait till tonight," he whispered irritably. "Then you'll see who's going to laugh hardest..."

Harry grabbed his parchment, ink and quill, hastily stuffing it into his bag, before he made his way to his new desk, fuming all the way.

Harry couldn't stay angry with Draco for long. It had always been that way. Otherwise, he couldn't be with Draco at all. Draco liked driving Harry barmy just for the kick of it, it often seemed.

"And?" Draco prompted from his reclined position on the bed. "What did Severus say about your... concoction?" He had a hard time keeping a straight face.

"My Scintillating Solution," Harry growled, eyes narrowing at Draco's choked chuckle, "was, apart from... some minor things, very good. Even Snape said so."

"He did, indeed?" the blond asked dubiously. "What did he say exactly?"

"Why should that be important?" Harry averted his gaze, rummaging in his bag for his Transfiguration book.

"Come on, what did he say, Harry?" Draco goaded. "Don't you want me to be proud of your Potions achievements? I could pet your head and tell you how well you did."

Harry rolled his eyes. "He said it was not as abysmal as he had thought it would be. Happy?"

Draco gasped. "That's almost praise!"

"I know," Harry smiled. "I wonder what got into him..."

Draco grinned. "Frankly, that doesn't concern me in the least, now," he murmured, rising fluently from the bed, a predatory sparkle in his eyes. "I'm really more interested what is going to get into you..."

Harry rolled his eyes as a silly grin threatening to spread over his face. "Draco," he said warningly as the other boy drew nearer to him, "I've still got homework to do, you know..."

"Do it later."

"It's late already."

"Do it tomorrow, then."

"But," Harry laughed as Draco was on him, pinning him against his desk. "I can't just-"

Draco leant over the sitting boy, effectively trapping him as he bent down, pressing his lips to Harry's in a sweet kiss. His tongue nudged Harry's lips apart, snaking its way into the familiar cavity.

Harry moaned into Draco's mouth, sliding his eyes shut as he let himself be tugged into a standing position, their bodies aligning automatically. He looped his arms around Draco's middle, angling his head so that the slightly smaller boy wouldn't get a neck ache.

"Harry," a voice whispered urgently, causing said boy's eyes to snap open. Upon seeing again the ghost of Sirius, Harry startled harshly, taking an involuntary step back into the desk. His heart hammered, though it didn't have anything to do with Draco's proximity anymore. This couldn't be real, he tried to convince himself, he was still sleeping, yes; his mind trapped him in some nightmare, yes-

"All right," Draco snarled, angrily wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Just go to hell with your stupid- I don't care!"

"I need to talk to you, Harry," the apparition said. "You're the only one who can help me."

"Draco, no, wait!" Harry cried, making a grab for the other boy, but Draco sidestepped him easily, bestowing one of his better evil sneers upon him. "It's not-"

"Are you deaf?" Draco growled. "I don't care anymore." With one last huff, the boy stalked over to the door leading to the en-suite bathroom, banging it shut loudly just to spite Harry.

"Trouble in paradise, eh?"

Harry swept his gaze from the bathroom door to the floating ghost, barely containing his anger. "What are you - whatever you are - trying to do?" he snarled. "Do you know how long it took me to finally get him? D'you want to break us apart, or what? Who do you think you are!"

The ghost frowned. "I'm Sirius, who else would I be?"

"You're not Sirius, my godfather would never do something to hurt me," Harry spat. "He always respected my feelings!"

"I- Harry..." The ghost floated nearer, a puzzled look on his face. "I didn't know you were that serious with Malfoy, but I'm really Sirius Black, in the flesh - or not." He grinned.

"I'm going mad," Harry muttered. "That's all." He turned around, looking through his drawer for his wand. "All I need is some hallucination-reducing charm..." Now he could be glad that his training before Voldemort's downfall had been so extensive.

"This is real, Harry," Sirius said, floating in front of the boy. "It's me, Sirius. I'm dead, a ghost, and I need your help; that's why I'm here."

Harry flinched. "I can't help you." He hadn't been able to help Sirius while he was alive, so why should it be different now?

"Sure you can, Harry," Sirius said. "You're able to see me; you're the only one who can help me."

"Maybe I don't want to help you?" Harry hissed. This had to be some kind of trick, some joke. Maybe his subconscious was playing games with him. He was convinced that he couldn't help Sirius, dead or not.

Sirius cringed faintly, then sighed. "You don't believe me? That's good, actually. I can prove it's me. Just ask me any question about yourself and I'll answer."

"Oh, that'd be real tough," Harry muttered. "All you had to do was read some book about me."

"The important things aren't in the books," Sirius said with a smile. "Only your friends know the real you."

Harry frowned, then shrugged mentally. Ghosts weren't something too special, after all. Why the heck not? "All right. Who gave you the Daily Prophet to do the crosswords?"

"Fudge." Sirius grimaced.

"What was your first present for me?"

"That's easy: your Firebolt!" Sirius quipped.

"Yeah," Harry cracked a small smile. "What's the name of my cousin?"

Sirius grin faltered. "Dudley."

"What's special about my Patronus?"

"The stag was James' Animagus form."

Harry closed his eyes shortly, and when he opened them again, he was convinced that after the next question, he would know for sure whether this apparition was Sirius' ghost or not. Nobody besides Draco, Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius knew the answer. "What do I hear when I see a Dementor?"

It was like a cool breeze, without substance but somehow soothing, nonetheless, as Sirius wrapped his translucent arms around he was Sirius.

Repressing the urge to let his tears fall, the boy merely whispered hoarsely, "Hi, Sirius. Long time, no see."

"How exactly do you need my help?" Harry asked after endless minutes of just talking about the past and being near each other. He still wasn't sure why Sirius was back or why he hadn't come earlier, but he knew that if Sirius needed help, he would give it gladly. "Do you want me to... resurrect you?"

"No!" Sirius laughed. "Resurrecting the dead is very Dark Magic; you wouldn't be able to do it, and it's not what I need you to do, any road." The ghost sighed and floated above the ground. "I am dead and I can finally accept it. There are certain things, however, that won't let me 'move on' properly, if you know what I mean."

"Not really," Harry said slowly.

"Well, different people have different views on what their afterlife might look like. Christians believe they either get into Heaven or Hell, the ancient Greeks believed they'd end either in the Elysian Fields or in Tartaros, and Wizards believe in Stars as their final destination. Every witch or wizard can choose which star they would like to spend the rest of eternity on."

"Wizards get to the stars?" Harry asked puzzled. "I never heard of that before."

"It's an old belief, Harry, and even if it's not well-known, it is still true. I was there - well, almost. You see, in nearly every other religion, there are two places where the deceased can go; either in the place for the good ones or the place for the bad ones. Wizards only have one place. They all have to erase their sins to get into paradise. That's why I'm here - to correct the wrongs I've done in my life. Only then I'll be able to get to my star."

"Ah," Harry said blankly. "What kind of wrong do you have to correct?"

Sirius averted his gaze quickly, combing the fingers of one hand through his semi-transparent hair. He floated away, his eyes roving from one side to the other, as if trying to search for proper words to explain himself.

"Well," he said slowly, "that's kind of hard to explain." He sighed harshly.

"Out with it. It can't be too bad." Harry's interest was awoken.

"I have to play matchmaker..." Sirius' voice trailed off. He was hedging to avoid the subject. "Back in my schooldays I did... something and- At any rate, I have to play matchmaker for Remus..."

"You have to find someone for Remus?" Harry didn't know what to think about that. Remus had never seemed like a person who needed someone to be with. Harry had always seen him as someone who was quite happy alone because, frankly, who would like to be with a werewolf? Being friends with Remus was for certain people effort enough; being Remus' lover would have meant whole new dimensions. It wasn't that Harry didn't want Remus happy, he had just never seen that he wasn't in the first place. "Do you already have an idea who could be a candidate?"

"Well, yes, actually I do have an idea." Sirius' eyes flinched, and he stalled some more time by nervously clearing his throat. "Snape."

Harry laughed out loud. "Snape? Any other candidate or what?"

Sirius didn't say anything.

Harry's smile died. "Snape?" he repeated in a mixture of numbness and dawning horror. "What do you mean, Snape?"

"I mean that I've got to get Remus together with Snape."

Harry froze completely. He felt as though the slightest breeze could knock him over and shatter him to thousand pieces. He was convinced that there was something wrong with his ears, because there were some things one didn't make jokes of, and playing matchmaker for Remus and Snape was one of those.

"What?" Harry whispered.

"It's a rather long story," Sirius sighed, waving his arm as if it was insignificant.

"Then tell me. Draco will occupy the bathroom for at least two more hours, so we'll be undisturbed." For once his boyfriend's grooming - and sulking - rituals were good for something.

"It's not really important, you know? We should rather plan how we can-"

"I won't help you if you don't tell me, Sirius. Dumbledore always kept me in the dark, all the time, and I won't allow you to do the same. You said you did 'something' and that you had to correct your wrongs. What did you do?"

"Nothing the git didn't deserve," Sirius muttered.

"Sirius," said Harry warningly, "what did you do?"

"You remember the Shrieking Shack incident?" Sirius said with a sigh, seeming to realise that, when he wanted Harry's help, he had to be at least honest in return. "Remus told you about it in your third year, but he didn't tell you everything, mostly because he didn't know everything himself."

"I'm already dreading what you might tell me."

"It's not as if I tried to get Snape killed - or even severely injured," Sirius growled. "How do you think James knew where the slimy git was?" He waited a few moments to let it sink in. "And do you think I let the information slip just like that?" Sirius snorted. "I was a top grade student not for naught, you know? Snape might have been annoying as hell and I really wanted to scare him away, but he wasn't worth getting chucked out of Hogwarts for."

Harry ignored an uneasy feeling. Even though he didn't like it when Sirius badmouthed Snape, he surely wouldn't start defending the Potions master. "Why did you do it, then? You lured him into this trap - without Remus' knowing - only to let him get rescued immediately?"

Sirius smiled reminiscently, causing Harry's feeling of unease to double. "I wanted to scare him, yes, but I also wanted to teach him a valuable lesson."

"That you could easily kill him?" Harry asked perplexedly. He didn't want to see this side of his godfather; he only wanted to keep the good memories in his mind. It was unsettling that Sirius could derive such twisted pleasure from playing around with those he deemed underprivileged. 'The thing between me and Draco has never been like that,' he assured himself hastily. 'We were never that cruel.' It only served to make him feel worse.

"No, not that I could," said Sirius with a tense voice, "that Remus could easily kill him."

Harry was shocked into temporary speechlessness.

"It's not as if Remus would have harmed Snape," Sirius snorted, rolling his eyes. "It's not even as if Remus could have harmed him. Which is rather fortunate, though I don't think Snape knows about it..."

"Knows about what? You're not making any sense, Sirius. Why couldn't Remus have attacked Snape? Werewolves don't tend to be choosy, except when it comes to their own kin or..." Snape. Harry's eyes widened imperceptibly.

He had told Harry himself, sort of, back in the boy's third year. Harry had read Hermione's essay on werewolves. A werewolf was unable to attack other werewolves - and they didn't harm their mates. Harry didn't know much about magical creatures - except those he had to study in CFMC and his additional training classes - but he did know that mates mustn't be parted.

Life-mates were something incredibly rare. They were drawn to each other, no matter how much time passed when they were apart. Harry suspected that was the reason why Remus came back to teaching and Snape turned spy for the Order.

"You kept life-mates apart?" Harry whispered. Granted, he didn't care much for Snape and his repressed emotions, but Remus was his new guardian after having taken custody of him. Harry couldn't stand being apart from Draco for twenty-four hours straight, and they were 'only' in love - how much worse must it hurt to be kept from your mate for nearly two decades?

"So what?" Sirius asked nonchalantly.

"You have no idea what you did, have you?" Harry asked, somewhat incredulously. "You could have killed Remus! You can't - you can't just separate life-mates!"

"You're exaggerating," Sirius waved his hand indignantly. "I merely did what had to be done at the time. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't put a stop to it? Snape thought he loved Remus, but he was a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake! Everyone knew he was on You-Know-Who's side. Snape was so deep into the Dark Arts - he didn't even try to keep his beliefs to himself. Not that he's much better now... A Death Eater and a werewolf in love. Can you believe it? Remus was always so shy and didn't believe that Snape could love him. He was afraid that Snape would be disgusted by his werewolf side. I had to act before either of them could confess their feelings to the other."

"How did you know?" Harry asked. "How did you know that Snape and Remus are life-mates, but they didn't?"

Sirius shrugged. "I recognised the signs," he said. "Remus wasn't interested in romance. Never. He didn't believe that werewolves mate for life, but I knew it was true. Halfbloods rarely believe in the myths surrounding magical creatures...

"Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. Remus isn't dead, is he? And neither is Snape." Sirius didn't look like he was too glad about the latter part. "So this whole life-mates thing can't be that serious, can it?"

Harry had to concede this point. Remus and Snape were both very much alive, and Harry had never seen reason to doubt Remus' well-being. Could it be that this whole life-mates deal was overrated?

"You are going to help me, aren't you?" Sirius said, somehow strained. "I know this must be hard on you, Harry, and I wouldn't ask for your help if I didn't need it..."

"No, it's all right," Harry said softly, managing a small smile. "Of course, I'm going to help you."

Harry was lying on their bed, already half asleep, as he heard the door to the bathroom creak open. Soft footsteps announced Draco's arrival. And then something small and hard hit Harry's head.

"Ouch," he cursed, rubbing the sore spot. Harry turned around to his boyfriend and glared. "What's that? Ouch!" he added, as another missile hit home.

"My peace offering," Draco said coyly. He went to the bed, crawled over to Harry and kissed his forehead. Then he picked up the two objects he had thrown at his boyfriend - which turned out to be chocolate balls - and held one to Harry's lips. "Sorry about earlier. Forgive me?"

"You can't bribe your way out of everything-" Harry started indignantly. Then his words died in his throat, as Draco pushed the first chocolate ball into his mouth and sealed it shut with his own lips.

'But you sure can try,' Harry thought foggily, eyes sliding shut. Tongues traded the slowly melting confection to and fro, and Harry groaned lowly, feeling Draco echo the sound. Draco and his newly acquired kinks - food smut was definitely one of Harry's favourites. And if his mind hadn't been occupied elsewhere, Harry would have surely enjoyed it more.

After they'd shared the second chocolate ball, Harry separated their mouths, licking a stray smudge from Draco's lower lip. "We have to talk."

Draco groaned again, but this time there was no pleasure in it. "Oh bloody hell. Not one of those," he whinged. "Can't we do something more - hmm - worthwhile?" He batted his lashes seductively, trying to distract Harry. It didn't work.

"You're not in trouble," Harry said, getting the first issue out of the way immediately. He had thought about Sirius' problem after the ghost had departed, and come to the conclusion that he couldn't solve it on his own. Snape wasn't someone to be manipulated - not by his least favourite student, at any rate. But Draco was Snape's godson, and with his help, Harry's plan to set Snape up with Remus could work. All he needed now was to ask for Draco's help.

"Oh?" Draco looked almost shocked that a talking to from Harry didn't mean he was in trouble. Then he grinned widely, saying, "Well, then. Talk away!"

"Okay," Harry said slowly, thinking of the best way to start this conversation. "Um, I told you about the Marauders, didn't I?" He waited for Draco's confused nod, then went on, "Well, they and Snape went to school together and harassed each other, peaking in the Shrieking Shack incident."

"Lupin almost killed my guardian, I know. If your father hadn't chickened out at the last moment..."

"My father wasn't in on the prank," Harry said with a look.

"Severus says something else," Draco said with his own look. "Do you imply he's lying?"

Harry looked his boyfriend hard in the eyes. "No," he said, meaning it. Snape just couldn't match his own truth to reality sometimes. "Do you know why Sirius coaxed Snape into the shack?"

"I'm taking a wild guess here: To kill him?" Draco said sarcastically. "Harry, what are you talking about? If there is a point, please come to it."

"Right," Harry sighed. He knew he couldn't keep Draco waiting for much longer. He had to know the truth, too. "Sirius wanted to keep them apart. Snape and Remus - they were in love." He waited for the information to sink in.

"Severus and Lupin?" Draco shuddered. "A pair? That's just-"

"No," Harry corrected. "They weren't a pair, they were in love. They didn't tell each other about their feelings. And then there was the Shrieking Shack incident, and Snape found out about the werewolf thing, and Remus thought Snape hated him... It was all very complicated."

"Huh," said Draco. "Tell me about it."

Harry took a deep breath. "And that's why I want to get them together, now," he said in a rush. "They're meant for each other. And not only in the romantic sense, they're life-mates, as well."

"Life-mates?" Draco repeated blankly. "What? Are you joking?"

"No, I'm dead serious."

Draco studied Harry for a few moments. "Severus was in love with Lupin? I can't believe it. They hate each other. They couldn't have been in love. They're so different."

Harry brushed a lock of soft, silvery hair back from Draco's eyes. "We're also different," he reminded his boyfriend. "And we used to hate each other. That didn't stop us from falling in love, though, did it?"

Draco blinked, surprised. "But - but they're not like us. I mean-"

"Gryffindor and Slytherin, hate and love, jealousy and insults, secret passions and watching eyes. Ring any bells?" Harry asked softly.

"Merlin," Draco whispered. "Severus loved Lupin. And Lupin was in love with Severus..."

"I think Remus is still in love with him," Harry said. "That's why I wanted to bring them together. I noticed he seemed so depressed lately, so I went to investigate." He had been getting better at lying over the last two years, as well.

"Snooped around where you shouldn't, more like?"

Harry grinned, shrugging. "You know me so well," he sighed. "Well, I looked through Remus' room at Grimmauld Place for anything useful, but couldn't find anything. And then I found Sirius' old journal in the attic, where he wrote down everything about the Shrieking Shack incident. Must have been quite proud of it." Harry had decided to stick to the story with the journal, because Sirius had seemed unwilling to let Harry disclose the information about him being a ghost. He hadn't even let Harry say his name, instead cutting him off mid-word. So, Harry would keep quiet about the ghost thing. That didn't mean he had to put Sirius into the best light, though.

"And now you need my help with Severus," Draco stated, smirking. "Oh, that's rich. You need my help..."

"What do you want in return?" Harry said tiredly.

"So many possibilities!" Draco looked decidedly excited. "I want you to massage my back - no, I could get a masseur to do that - I want you to kiss my feet - no, every time you'd kiss my mouth afterwards, I'd be reminded of it - I want you to address me as 'Master' for a week - no, no, no - I want you..." He trailed off, frowning. Harry looked expectantly, not knowing whether Draco's lack of good ideas was something good itself.

Then Draco smiled sweetly, snuggling closer to his boyfriend, and said, "I want you to hold me like this."

Harry was surprised, to put it mildly. "Just hold you?" he asked, putting his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him near.

"There a problem, Potter?" Draco growled.

"Uh, no, not at all," Harry said happily, pressing a kiss to Draco's hair, as the blond's face nestled into Harry's neck. "Night."

The next day, Harry had DADA with the Ravenclaws. Even if Harry didn't like the fact, normally, that he didn't have Draco by his side, this time he was glad to be able to observe Remus without disturbance.

They were having a theoretical lesson. Reading, questions about the upcoming NEWTs, and so on. Harry was bored out of his mind. He kept on taking notes, though, like everyone else. These notes didn't have anything to do with DADA, however, but with his professor and new guardian, Remus Lupin.

Remus was looking awfully tired, Harry noticed with a pang. He had never seen it before. The dark bags under Remus' eyes, the lines on his forehead when he wasn't making an effort to smile, the tired movement of his obviously aching limbs. Full moon had been two weeks ago. He should have recovered by now.

If Harry hadn't had his resolve already, he would have made it at this moment: Remus needed someone to love in his life. And if this someone was meant to be Severus Snape, who was Harry to go against it?

"You won't believe it," Draco practically gushed as soon as he entered their room after classes that day. "I swear, you won't believe it!"

Harry looked up from his homework, barely repressed anticipation in his eyes. He had been waiting for Draco to return from his little meeting with his guardian for the last hour, and his homework couldn't help to distract him in the least. "I won't believe what?" he asked quickly, indulging Draco in his need for a bit of drama.

"He blushed," Draco pronounced emphatically. "And not just any colour, oh no. It wasn't a delicate rosé, or a soft strawberry hue - no, he went beet-red!" He shook in his effort not to break out into wild giggles. "Beet-red! All over! I swear, for a moment I was afraid his capillary veins had exploded!" Then Draco gave in and tittered, bending at the middle and holding his belly. Tears of mirth were beginning to leak out of his eyes, when he managed to control himself again. "First he turned every shade of red, then he started on the purples. Oh my God, you should have seen him, Harry..."

Harry thought so, too. Certainly, it would have been a sight to behold. "And why did Snape blush? What did you ask him exactly?"

"Oh," Draco panted, plopping down next to Harry on their bed. "I merely asked what he thought of Lupin... And whether he knew that Lupin is gay... And what he'd say were I to suggest that they give each other a go..." He smirked evilly. "At first, he merely blushed, then he started stammering - really, he couldn't get out a whole sentence - and then he got angry. But that was to be expected."

"He was angry?" Harry asked, feeling a bit guilty at being the cause of a quarrel between his boyfriend and his guardian. "What did he say?"

"Oh, the usual," Draco said dismissingly. "That he didn't want me as a godson anymore, that he wouldn't let me live with him after graduation, that-"

"What?" Harry cried, shocked. "Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't want-"

"If you're quite finished with your Gryffindor guilt trip," Draco drawled, grinning at Harry, "I could tell you that those are triple S - Standard Slytherin Sentences. Empty threats. He loves me; even if he expresses his feelings by pitying me for my 'poor choice of a mate'. He'd never do anything like that. He'd threaten me, yes, but nothing more. Well, that's just the way Severus is..."

Harry blushed faintly at the word 'mate', but nodded. "Oh. Okay."

"So, what are we going to do?" Draco wanted to know, suddenly eager to get his guardian together with their DADA professor. Most likely, he had enjoyed embarrassing the hell out of Snape, and wanted to repeat it. "Clandestine meetings? Love notes from secret admirers? Or should we try something rash, like locking them together into a room, not letting them out until they shagged?"

Harry winced. He didn't need to think of shagging when it came to his guardian and Snape. He was happy fooling himself that they'd have a platonic relationship. It was possible, after all. Not very likely, but the chance remained. And as long as the chance remained, Harry was going to stay sane. "I'm not sure, yet. We'll have to think of something."

"Oh, I know!" Draco gushed giddily, looking like Hermione with the answer to a distinctly difficult question. Uncanny. "We could send them Howlers at breakfast! With a Voice Altering Potion we could even make it sound like Severus was sending a letter to Lupin and vice versa! Or better yet: We could brew a Polyjuice Potion and act as if we were one of them - No, wait, things could get too complicated that way..."

Harry was amazed how many ways Draco could think of to bring Snape and Remus together. He didn't complain, though.

Draco was finally sound asleep when Harry quietly slipped out of bed to meet up with Sirius. He crept silently through the hallways, securely covered by his Invisibility Cloak, wondering how this would all work out. Only two days ago, Harry's life had been normal - well, more normal than what it used to be. Voldemort was gone, the war was over, and everything was quiet. Sirius had been dead, and Harry had been able to feel guilty in peace. Now, he was back - even if only temporally as a ghost - and Harry's feelings came rushing back to the surface.

Two years ago, in the Department of Mysteries, Harry had been unable to save Sirius. It had all happened so quickly, so out of the blue, that, if Harry had only blinked, he would have missed it.

Of course, Harry would help Sirius to fix the mess he made while he was alive. It was the least he could do, after all.

"There you are," Sirius said suddenly, startling Harry out of his quiet musings. He had just appeared out of thin air. "I've been trying to materialize for the last thirty minutes." They had discovered, earlier, that Sirius could only 'exist' when Harry was around. Therefore, not only could only Harry see Sirius, Sirius couldn't see anyone, either, if Harry wasn't around.

"Sorry," Harry muttered. "Couldn't get away sooner. Draco wouldn't fall asleep." He shrugged, ignoring Sirius' wince at the reminder of his relationship with the Slytherin.

"Anyway, what I wanted to tell you," Sirius said, floating off into a side corridor and waiting for Harry to follow him. "You'll have to hurry. I only have a week left to set things straight. I don't know what happens otherwise."

"Don't worry," Harry said. "Draco's going to help me." At Sirius' horrified expression, he went on, "No, I didn't tell him about you being a ghost. Draco will help me with Snape. He's his godson, after all. That should prove quite helpful, right?"

Sirius nodded, though he didn't look too happy. "Well, I also wanted to use this moment, in case we don't see each other anymore... I'm proud of you. I hope you know that."

Harry blinked against sudden tears. "Sirius..."

"No, please don't interrupt me," Sirius said hastily. "I haven't seen your parents, yet, in the afterlife I mean. But I'm sure they're proud of you, as well. I can't say I'm too pleased about the Malfoy boy, but if he makes you happy?" Harry blushed and nodded. Sirius sighed. "Well, then I'm happy for you, too."

The same almost-not-there touch enveloped Harry for a second time, as Sirius wrapped his ghostly arms around his shoulders. Harry closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. "I miss you," he whispered. "Send Mum and Dad my love, all right?"

Sirius nodded and ended the embrace. "Will do," he promised, shooing Harry away. "Now go, before Malfoy - Draco - notices anything."

Harry smiled tearfully and headed back to their room. He didn't see how Sirius vanished slowly from sight, a puzzled look on his face. He didn't know that Sirius had already righted his last wrong by easing Harry's guilt and accepting Draco in his life.

Harry and Draco agreed on starting with secret love notes they would smuggle into the bedrooms of both Snape and Lupin. Draco was quite gifted when it came to words, so the blond got to compose those letters. They were sweet, but not overly so, and Harry realised that his heart clenched with a jealous pang that Draco had never written anything for him. The only letters he got were French ones. Well, there was still time for poetry later. Now, they had to carry out their plan.

"It's not like I imagined Snape's chamber to be," Harry muttered after Draco had whispered the password to the painting guarding his guardian's rooms. They were in a comfortable-looking chamber with rugs, a big, lit hearth, inviting armchairs, and even a few personal items.

"What did you expect?" Draco asked back. "Bare walls and chains? Severus is not Filch, Harry. I thought you knew that much by now." He led his boyfriend through the living room to a single door, which, as it turned out, led to the Potions master's bedroom.

Harry had not thought he'd live to see the day when he set foot in Snape's bedroom. He shuddered silently. Gross. Even though the room wasn't. It was - Harry couldn't believe he thought of the word associated with anything of Snape's - homey. The large four-poster was covered with a warm comforter, there were more pillows than strictly needed, and a book on the night desk, complete with reading glasses.

The two boys moved quickly to drop off their first letter. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he and Draco made their way back out of Snape's rooms. Even though it looked very welcoming, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wouldn't be wanted here. He kept his arm firmly around Draco's waist and made sure to not let the Invisibility Cloak get caught in the door to Snape's bedroom as he closed it. They had just turned around when they stopped dead in their tracks again.

There had been a faint bump and a voice from the hallway.

"Did you hear that?" Harry whispered apprehensively. It wasn't fear that crept up on him, though - it was Draco, clinging to his side and trying to appear even smaller than he was.

"The knock or the groan?" Draco whispered back. There was a touch of dread in his voice, and Harry could only guess that he didn't want to get caught by his guardian either. "Oh, we're screwed! We're so screwed! Severus will kill us! He'll skin us alive and use our intestines for some dodgy potions project!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Harry said, squeezing Draco's side and dragging the boy to the side, vis-à-vis from the fireplace. "If we keep quiet, he won't notice us." At that, he whipped out his wand and cast a Silencing Spell on the inside of his Invisibility Cloak. "We'll just leave when he's in the bedroom or something."

There was another bump, and then the door swung open and Snape stumbled in - Harry did a double take, but yes, Snape was indeed stumbling - closely followed by an equally not-so-surefooted Remus Lupin - Harry did a triple take at that, but yes, there was his own guardian, bumping into Snape. Harry thought he might have gone mad, but he could have sworn he'd heard a giggle coming from one, if not of both of the men.

"Draco?" he whispered blankly, eyes fixed on the scene before him.

"Yeah?" The other boy seemed equally frozen by the sight.

"Do you see what I'm seeing?"

"I'm not sure," Draco said hesitantly, as though if he kept delaying his reply, this would turn out a dream. "What are you seeing?"

Harry frowned, watching how Snape spelled the door shut and then proceeded to kiss Remus senseless. There was entirely too much moaning and grinding going on. Harry might not still be untouched, but he would gladly claim to have virgin eyes, if it kept him from seeing anything more.

"Too much," he mumbled. "Entirely too much." So much for happily fooling himself that they'd have a platonic relationship.

"Harry?" Draco said slowly. "Severus isn't going to kill us. If he ever finds out we were here, he's going to make us live to regret it."

Harry wanted to reassure his boyfriend, but he didn't want to give false hope, either. Then he suddenly seemed to grasp the entire situation.

"Hey," he said, surprised. "Doesn't that mean our entire get-them-together mission was for naught? I mean, it doesn't look like they just hit it off with each other, does it?" But when if they were already together, why did Sirius come back as a ghost, asking Harry to help him? Maybe history righted itself, he thought. He would never know for sure.

"Hmm," murmured Draco, studying the sure ministrations, the familiarity and closeness both Snape and Lupin were conveying. They looked like they had been together for a while now, though their passion for each other was still blazing.

"Oh!" Draco gasped then. "We'll have to get the letter back!"

"Right," Harry said, pointing his wand to the bedroom and summoning the paper from under the closed door. He made sure that they weren't discovered, but he needn't have worried. Snape and Lupin weren't very interested in anything but each other at the moment. Harry quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket. "Okay, what are we going to do now, Draco?"

The Slytherin didn't answer. Instead he seemed transfixed by the scene unfolding itself in front of his eyes. He didn't even blink.

"Draco?" Harry repeated, shooting his boyfriend an incredulous look. "What are you doing?"

"Hush," the blond said, angling his head sideways. "I never knew you could do it this way," he observed. "Doesn't that hurt? Must be uncomfortable for Lupin's back, or at least Severus' kneecaps. What do you think?"

Despite himself Harry looked over to Snape and his guardian, immediately wishing he hadn't. They were wearing too little for his own comfort. Harry didn't even want to think it, but there was no safe way to describe that Snape was naked, nude, bare, unclothed, stripped, exposed. He was kneeing in front of Remus, who was half-sitting, half-lying on one of the comfy armchairs, the back put lower. Remus' legs were thrown over Snape's shoulders, his unbuttoned shirt, which was the only item left - for which Harry was eternally grateful; he didn't need to see his own guardian naked, as well - was bunched across his front, and his fingers were buried in Snape's hair as the other man went down on him. Too many mental images filled Harry's mind. Surely they'd last for a lifetime committal in St. Mungo's.

But St. Mungo's or not, Harry could feel the strange fascination Draco was evidently subjected to. It was sick, he told himself, really, really sick, yet he couldn't stop himself from looking. They hadn't much else to do, anyway. Why not use the time and learn something new? Harry and Draco had both been inexperienced when they'd become a couple. They had learned everything they knew now together in their relationship. And even if their love life was anything but boring - thanks to Draco's preference for trying something new every so often - it still lacked the variation of experience. Harry wasn't sure about Draco - though he strongly suspected he shared his resolve - but he himself didn't want to gather said experience with other partners.

A sudden scratching ripped Harry out of his quiet musings. He looked at Draco, and his eyes bulged. "What are you doing?" he gasped disbelievingly.

"Taking notes," Draco said, without looking up from the little notepad he had just conjured.

"Taking notes," Harry repeated faintly. "Why, for Merlin's sake, are you taking notes of that? I mean, I admit it's kind of hot to- no, wait, I don't admit anything. Why are you taking notes?"

"Don't want to risk forgetting anything important," Draco muttered distractedly. He kept on alternating between glancing over to the older couple, and scribbling down notes and - Harry was traumatized to discover - accompanying sketches. "We're going to try this soon. Judging by Lupin's face, it has to feel incredible..."

Harry blushed deeply, unconsciously looking over to Remus, whose face was flushed and relaxed in a way that clearly proved Draco's words right. Suddenly, Harry was hit by the realisation why Remus had looked so tired and achy the day before. If he and Snape were going at it like that every night, it was no wonder he looked so worse for wear.

"We could have gotten a sex tips book," Harry stated absentmindedly. When their relationship had still been fresh, Harry hadn't dared suggesting anything like that to Draco. Somehow, it seemed even more intimate to read something about sex together than to just act on it and discover each other's pleasure on the way. Now, though, being in the same room when both of their guardians were in the middle of what seemed to be a drawn-out session of lovemaking, Harry didn't care anymore.

The hurried scratching of the quill stopped abruptly, and Draco looked at his boyfriend, shock clearly written over his face. "There are books on the topic of sex?" he breathed, awed.

Harry looked at his boyfriend as if he came from another world. "Of course," he said. "Doesn't the Wizarding World have them, too?"

"What? No!" Draco was momentarily so surprised, he stopped his note-taking altogether and put the paper and the quill back into his robe pocket. "There are really books about sex?" he repeated, as if he still couldn't grasp the idea. The Wizarding World must have been more prudish than Harry had thought.

"Why don't we have some, then?" Draco asked petulantly. At Harry's blush he went on, "Never mind. School's almost over, anyway, and then we can start our very own collection." With that said, Draco went back to watching. He didn't want to waste such an informative demonstration lesson, after all. And if Snape discovered them afterwards, he wanted at least a good reason to get into trouble.

Remus was moaning again, louder than before. There were a couple of pet names for Snape - Harry shuddered once more - proclamations of love and unbroken fidelity - Harry started. Unbroken fidelity? Did that mean Remus had never had a lover beside Snape? Harry wasn't sure why his heart suddenly constricted in sympathy.

He could clearly remember the time when he had been shy and innocent, a painful twinge in the pit of his stomach that Draco had to be more experienced than him, that he'd shared his body with someone else already. His kisses had been so sure - though Harry should have been able to guess that he just had a naturally witty tongue - but after the first layer of clothes had fallen away, Draco's superiority had as well, looking as out of his element as Harry had been feeling. Harry didn't want Remus to experience this sensation, too, every time he told Snape that he was his only one - always had been - feeling a stab of knowledge that this precious gift had not been returned.

Harry didn't know that this was not the case, nor was he likely to ever find out.

"How long do you think till they move to the bedroom?" Draco asked, distracting Harry from his musings. Harry wasn't sure whether his boyfriend asked because he wanted out of Snape's rooms, or because he wanted to enjoy the show without interruption.

"I don't know," Harry answered truthfully. "Maybe they won't leave the chair at-"

"Oh my God!" Draco interrupted suddenly with a sharp gasp, when Snape pulled away from Remus' lap.

Harry glanced at his boyfriend, but didn't find him staring at Remus' erection - like Harry had surmised at first - but at Snape's chest. Before Harry had the chance to make out what was so terribly amazing about Snape's scrawny torso, though, Draco solved the enigma for him.

"A piercing!" he spluttered, then added, awed, "Kinky..."

Astonishment was too mild a word to describe Harry's feelings right then. There was indeed a small golden ring going through Snape's left nipple. Harry's eyes widened fractionally, then they snapped over to Remus' chest, just as it was exposed since the shirt had slid to the side. There was an identical golden ring pierced through his left nipple. Closest to the heart.

"Partner look?" Draco said, confused, after having discovered the similarities himself. "Never picked him for the kinky type... Well, Lupin does come across pervy, but Severus? Honestly, I'm stunned..."

"I believe they didn't get pierced for the kink of it," Harry said slowly, eyes moving to catch Draco's gaze. "It's like a Muggle ritual for gays who want to... Uh, it's like - they're married."

Draco's eyes grew impossibly wide. "Married?" he repeated, taken aback. Then he glared at his guardian. "He didn't even invite me for the wedding!"

"It's not like they're really married," Harry clarified. "At least, I don't think so. This partner piercing is just a Muggle way of showing that they belong to each other. It's still not possible for gays to marry in England, after all, right?"

Draco nodded slowly, turning his gaze back to Harry. "How long must they have been together to think of marriage?" he asked solemnly.

That was a justified question. Harry couldn't think of an answer, opting to stay silent.

"They must have been together for quite some time now," Draco said. "How come no one told us? I mean, isn't it only natural to tell one's godchild that they have a long-term relationship? Did they think we wouldn't understand?"

"Maybe they thought the others wouldn't understand," Harry supplied. He and Draco had not even tried to keep their relationship a secret, when they'd started going out with each other at age sixteen. Harry repressed a snicker as he thought of Ron's first reaction. "Harry and Malfoy?" he'd cried out. "But they are way too young to be gay!"

"They could've at least told us, then." Draco was stubborn. "It's not as if we couldn't keep secrets, right?"

"We'll have to ask them," Harry said with a shrug.

Draco's eyes took on an evil glint. "Fantastic idea," he praised his boyfriend. "We are going to ask them..."

The sudden lack of moaning caught their attention, then. Harry and Draco looked back over to their guardians, another mind-blowing revelation shaking them to the core.

Snape was still on his knees in front of Remus. His hands were on the werewolf's now bared stomach - a strangely bulging stomach, as it was - and his lips moved across the stretched skin. Remus' expression was one of tranquillity, his fingers still carding gently through Snape's hair, even as he ignored his obvious arousal.

"Lupin is pregnant?" Draco asked wildly. "Pregnant?"

"Obviously," Harry responded, thrown off-guard for the umpteenth time this evening. When they'd broken into Snape's rooms, he hadn't quite anticipated so many surprises. Really, one dead godfather coming back as a ghost, telling him to bring his new guardian and his most hated professor together, even though they already were an item, was enough shock to last a lifetime.

"He's pregnant!" Draco cried. "How could they not tell us they're going to have a baby!"

"Well, they will have to tell us soon, now," Harry tried to reason. "In a few months, they're going to have the baby - though I'm not quite sure where it's supposed to come out," he said, sidetracked, with a quick look at Remus' lap, which lacked the female delivery parts, "and then they can't keep their relationship quiet any longer."

"They better," Draco said lowly. When he looked back at his boyfriend, his eyes still held a betrayed look, but there was something else in it, too. "Does that mean, the baby's going to be my - well, our - little brother or sister?"

Harry's chest warmed at the thought of having siblings. "Yeah," he whispered. "I think so..."

"Well," Draco said haughtily. "As a big brother," he pronounced, still awed, "I'm going to have to teach the little ones who's got authority, then."

"Prat," Harry chuckled.

And this was the end of their conversation for quite some time, as they watched quietly how their guardians came together in the most intimate of unions. Harry thought he should feel guiltier about their indecency, but then again, he was a reckless Gryffindor who didn't care much for breaking rules. Why should he start on etiquette, now?

"I'm emotionally scarred, now," Harry muttered, a vacant look in his eyes.

"Me, too," Draco said numbly.

"I think it wasn't such a good idea to watch them."

"Me, too."

"I won't be able to look into my guardian's face without - remembering."

"Me, too."

"And I think our food smut phase is over, now."

"Me, too," Draco said, shuddering against his boyfriend. "Me, too."

-End-

Explanations:

'way too young to be gay'

This is a directly translated quote Namenlose once made.

French Letters

This is an expression for 'condoms'. I got it from Axel Schock and Karin Schupp's "Out-Takes".

Male Pregnancies

These are quite common in this universe. Therefore Harry and Draco avoid having unsafe sex.

Divine forces, Snape/Lupin pairing...

I altered the challenge a bit. These divine forces weren't all knowing, and Sirius wasn't told to bring Snape and Lupin together. He was sent back as a ghost to correct his wrongs, but he had to figure them out for himself. His wrong was, as you may have guessed, to ease Harry's guilt.


End file.
